The present invention relates to a novel collagen hydrolysate.
The invention also relates to the use of this novel collagen hydrolysate as an active ingredient to maintain and/or improve the health of the bones, in particular to prevent and/or treat osteoporosis. The invention further relates to a nutritional supplement which comprises the collagen hydrolysate.
The bones of vertebrates and therefore also of humans owe their great strength and mechanical stability to the special structure of the bone matrix which is synthesised by the osteoblasts (bone cells). The two essential components of the bone matrix are, firstly, a framework of cross-linked collagen, wherein particularly in the case of the bone matrix, this is type I collagen. The cross-linking thereof takes place essentially by means of the amino acids lysine and hydroxylysine. The second component is hydroxylapatite (also known as apatite-(CaOH)) which is embedded in the bone matrix (mineralisation of the bones). This structure of the bone is roughly comparable to that of steel-reinforced concrete wherein the properties of the steel framework (corresponding to the collagen) and of the concrete (corresponding to the hydroxylapatite) also complement one another while forming an extremely stable structure.
In contrast to many other tissue types, bone has a relatively high regeneration capability, that is, the extracellular bone matrix is continuously built up and broken down again. When a disturbance of this equilibrium comes about, that is, an insufficient building up of new bone matrix, bone loss occurs. This loss of bone density is known as osteoporosis and can have a variety of causes. Typically, osteoporosis occurs with increasing age (mostly from the start of the fifth decade of life), particularly frequently in women following the menopause (postmenopausal osteoporosis).
It has been known for some time that the loss of bone density in osteoporosis can be counteracted by oral administration of collagen hydrolysates. Collagen hydrolysates, which are obtained by the enzymatic hydrolysis of animal collagen contain a mixture of peptides with different chain lengths and molecular weights. The European patent EP 0 777 491 B1 discloses, for example, the use of a collagen hydrolysate with a mean molecular weight of 1,000 Da to 40,000 Da, which is produced by enzymatic hydrolysis of skin collagen, for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. It is assumed that this advantageous effect of collagen hydrolysate on the health of the bones is based on the stimulation of the biosynthesis of type I collagen and other matrix proteins by the osteoblasts, as has similarly been previously demonstrated in vitro for chondrocytes (see S. Oesser and J. Seiffert (2003), Cell Tissue Research (311) 393-399).